I know she’s hurting. I can hear her sobs through the bathroom door.
I don’t leave. I sit on the other side, professing my love to her.
I respect her privacy. I don’t break in. I don’t hold her like I want to. I don’t do any of it. Because for once, I’m giving her space. It’s going to be her choice. She gets to decide when she wants me back.
It was wrong of me to try to trick her into staying.
I realize a baby won’t fix the foundation that was broken. We need to heal our relationship before we add to it.
But I’m not giving up on our dream. One day, we will have a cottage full of love and children. And we’ll never want to spend a day apart. And we’ll look back at these trying times and realize we came out stronger.
I’ll stop at nothing to get there. I will get my sunshine back.
Because she once loved me. I know she can do it again.
But for now, I’ll love her enough for the both of us.
Chapter 85
Cecilia
Every day that passes, I feel my heart mending.
It’s gotten to the point where I realize the only thing holding me back from forgiveness is my own hurt. I’m holding myself back from my happiness.
What he did was horrible, but his intentions were pure. He only wanted to help me. To keep me.
He lied about who he was because he was scared I wouldn’t accept him. And that’s the only part I’m having trouble coping with. I have it in me to forgive him for his offenses against me, but what about all the people he’s hurt? All the people he’s killed? I don’t know if I can be with a man like that.
But my heart yearns to forgive him. I want my héroe back. And I know he’s in there. He’s just as much a part of Roman Montclair as the monster is.
He’s proved it every day.
He lets me out of the room now. He caters to me hand and foot. He treats me with love and respect. He’s even wearing condoms, which he’s never done with me before. I know hehates it, but not because of the physical barrier but because of the emotional one it represents between us.
He’s been honest with me. Every question, no matter how terrible, he answers truthfully. He told me he’ll never lie to me again. He’ll never risk our relationship like that.
He still firmly believes we can recover from this, and I’m starting to believe it too.
Because sometimes, love is enough.
Chapter 86
Cecilia
Roman comes home smelling like lemons.
It crushes me.
I’ve been able to ignore this side of him. I’ve been able to pretend it doesn’t exist, but now I have to face it. If we want a chance at a happy life together, I need to know everything. And I need to hear it from him.
“Where were you?” I ask, even though I know the answer.
He meets my gaze, and his face drops. He knows I know. And it breaks him just as much as it’s breaking me.
If he lies to me now, we have no chance of ever getting back together. But if his answer is worse than I can handle, we also have no chance.
We stare at each other, the silence choking me.
